Category Archive

Urban Initiatives

  • 2nd Annual Big Kid Recess

    Saturday May 7th was a beautiful spring morning – the perfect setting for Urban Initiatives’ 2nd Annual Big Kid Recess at Jenner Academy. Joined by 10 adults (big kids), Work to Play teams from Lawndale Academy, Nobel Elementary, and Beidler Elementary teamed up for a morning of fun and exciting recess games. The kids made…

    2nd Annual Big Kid Recess
  • Score a Goal Breakfast

    On Thursday May 5, Urban Initiatives hosted its inaugural Score a Goal Breakfast at the Virgin Hotel, hosted by Optiver. Serving as an introduction to Urban Initiatives’ programs and impact, the breakfast drummed up support for the Corporate Challenge Cup on July 16, a one-day soccer tournament that brings together 24 co-ed adult teams representing Chicagoland…

    Score a Goal Breakfast
  • PwC Takes the Field with Beidler

    On April 29th, some outstanding PwC employees came out to volunteer with the Beidler Bulls for a special and unique practice where their team had the chance to spend some quality time with some of our students on their home turf during a friday scrimmage. Each PwC member was connected to a small team of…

    PwC Takes the Field with Beidler
  • Junior Board Volunteer Day

    #UIJB member Patrick Mahal shares his experience from this year’s Junior Board Volunteer Day with the Otis Work to Play team! Friday April 29th began as any typical Chicago Spring day – grey, cold and windy. While the city counted down the minutes for the weekend to begin, Students inside Otis Elementary counted down the…

    Junior Board Volunteer Day
  • Team Captains Go from Me to We

    Last Thursday, Take the Lead participants earned themselves a day off from school to learn more about service learning projects and the impact they each can make by volunteering. We Day is an annual celebration of service learning that takes place all over the US, Canada, and UK. 15,000 youth from the Chicagoland area gathered…

    Team Captains Go from Me to We
  • UI Kids Soar with United

    United’s team of Corporate Coaches joined Work to Play teams from Faraday, Marquette, and Morrill Elementary for Game Day at Chicago Indoor Sports on April 29. Coaches and players took the field full of enthusiasm for an afternoon of soccer, fun, and friendship. The volunteers and the players from Morrill kicked things off by warming…

    UI Kids Soar with United
  • Jahn Team Captain Leo Shines on TV and Radio

    In preparation for We Day Illinois, Jahn Take the Lead Team Captain Leo joined Allstate C.E.O. Tom Wilson and We Day founder Craig Kielburger on television and radio. Leo spoke about the impact he is making at his school with WCIU’s You & Me This Morning, Fox’s Good Day Chicago, and WGN Radio’s Steve Cochran…

  • CrossFit Defined Lifts Urban Initiatives

    Between early December and April 9, CrossFit Defined in Lakeview and Lincoln Square raised money for Urban Initiatives through online crowdsourcing. Their fundraising efforts culminated in a competition where nearly 30 teams of 5 completed a series of physical fitness tasks that challenged them both physically and mentally. On an unseasonably cold and snowy day,…

  • ComEd Lights Up Game Day

    On April 15th, Urban Initiatives’ spring volunteer season kicked off with an enthusiastic team of Corporate Coaches from ComEd. As teams from Davis, Jackson, and Jahn Elementary arrived to Chicago Indoor Sports, it was hard to tell who was more excited—our eager group of volunteers, or Team Jackson as it was their first Game Day…

    ComEd Lights Up Game Day
  • Coach Cynthia Shares her ESPNW Summit Experience

    Coach Cynthia gives us the details of what her and Coach Preethi learned at the first ever ESPNW Women + Sports Summit. Coach Preethi and I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the espnW: Women + Sports Chicago event. To say that we enjoyed ourselves would be a gross understatement…I don’t think anyone else in…

    Coach Cynthia Shares her ESPNW Summit Experience